Show DID CUSTER ASPIRE TO BE PRESIDENT A new chapter in the story of a glamorous american by ELMO SCOTT WATSON released ed by western newspaper union FOUR years 0 SEVENTY ago cleveland ohio was the scene of a meeting unique in american politics the johnson soldiers and sailors convention of 1866 although a relatively minor incident in president andrew johnsons historic struggle with thaddeus stevens and the other radical republican leaders this convention has particular interest because one of its promoters and outstanding figures was a man whose name name is glamorous in our military annals he was george armstrong custer the boy general with the golden locks the murat of the american army and the indian fighter par excellence until a sioux bullet ended his spectacular career in what is commonly known as the custer massacre custer biographers are strangely S silent ent concerning his part in the cleveland convention yet it was an important milestone in his career for it was his first venture along a path which there is reason to believe he hoped might lead him to the presidency of the united states I 1 the story of that phase in the career of george armstrong cus ter cr is here told for the first time that custer was an active promoter of the johnson soldiers and sailors convention is is in indicated by an editorial which appeared in m the august 24 1866 is issue of the semiweekly semi weekly edition of horace greeleys greelegs Gree leys new york tribune headed the johnson soldiers this editorial began generals custer dix etc urge their fellow soldiers in the late civil war to unite with them in holding a convention in in cleveland to pave the way for a rebel cop triumph in the approaching election the tribune was one of the leading administration anti organs but granting the bias of its editorial policy custer must have been ul unusually usually active in johnsons behalf else he would not have been singled out for special notice a as s he was m the tribunes coverage of the convention the cleveland convention opened in a big tent on the lake front of the ohio city on september 17 the first dispatch sent back to the tribune by its special correspondent refers to custer incidentally misspelling his name thus in looking around on the members ol of this convention as they assembled tor for business I 1 saw many whose histories satisfied me of their object in being here the most prominent and conspicuous was custer custar his caliber is explained by the remark ot of an ohio delegate who said custar Is a man with a deal of h hair air but very little brains custar has been supporting the president vigorously since hi his s evidence before the Recon tion co committee attee and his reward was a promotion from rom capt captain a in to lieutenant colonel A C convention e n uon will bp be permanently manent ly organized tomorrow to morrow morning gens granger and custar are spoken ot of as permanent president so also Is rousseau and steedman there are a number seeking the position in case ol of a quarrel mr doolittle senator from wisconsin will settle matters custar is his bis man that red necktie but as it t turned out custar gen john E wool a veteran of the war of 1812 as well as the mexican and civil wars and the oldest major maior gen eral in in the united states army was made temporary president then according to the tribune correspondents next dispatch gen wool poor foolish old man called the c convention to order on his right sat young curly haired custer who was easily distinguished by a bright red necktie he wore gen gordon granger was made permanent president of the convention young custer too was ambitious to h have ave the honor conferred on him but gracefully yielded at the suggestion of senator doolittle custer felt hurt at this slight and called it ingratitude he felt that he was the chief spirit of the convention ven tion and the one who first originated the scheme but doolittle sleeked georgales Georg les s flaxen curls and told him it was the presidents wish that an older man should be selected so the quarrel was compromised by putting custer r on the committee to present the proc proceed ed ings of the convention to his excellency this wilt will give georgie a chance to apply for the vacant brigadier brigader i generalship in the regular army even though custer was denied the presidency of the convention he continued to be one of its leading spirits during the two days meeting the tribune dispatches repeatedly mention him and by this time its correspondent had evidently learned to spell his name correct correctly lyl I 1 they also mention frequently his red scarf that bright orif iamme which had been in the forefront of many a thundering cavalry charge during the civil war apparently custer was acting as a sort of secretary of the convention ven tion for there is also frequent mention of his receiving in messages brought to the tent by the telegraph boy one of these telegrams and the convention action achon which resulted from it created a furore later it came from memphis term tenn and it was GEN GEORGE A CUSTER in this photograph taken by brady in 1865 custer caster wears the picturesque costume of the boy general wide felt hat blue flannel shirt and scarlet tie according to the tribune correspondent spon dent signed by the rebel gen N B forrest of guerilla and fort pillow fame gen chalmers of hoods old army and col galloway of that notorious rebel sheet the memphis avalanche stating that the late rebel soldiers the same who massacred negro soldiers at fort pillow and again more recently on the streets of memphis in mass convention sent greeting to the johnson soldiers here and said they had their sympathy this waving of the bloody shirt by the tribune correspondent was prophetic of the repercussions from this incident which were to come almost immediately according to lloyd paul stryker in his biography of andrew johnson nothing could have done the johnson cau cause e more harm than this well dinten cloned message the convention upon receipt of th this is southern message of good win will adopted depte d a resolution thanking the confederate soldiers tor for their words ot of magnanimity and kindness kindne s this in the minds ol of thaddeus stevens and his sycophants was proof of treason the forrest telegram furnished sumner and his followers with new evidence that johnson had gone over to the confederacy all other circumstances united wrote blame blaine did not condemn the convention in northern opinion so deeply as this incident in his A complete life of general george A custer capt frederick whittaker custers earliest biographer and his chief apologist without referring directly to this aftermath of the affair admits that custers first venture into politics via the cleveland convention wits was an ill advised one and he tries to excuse his hero for the error of judgment u in in this ingenious fashion nothing hurt custers Ou political and military future like the movements of this summer all of which were due to his generous impulsive way of doing things honest to the backbone himself he could not imagine that others were less so and he fell as it were into the midst of a den of hungry political wolves who would have picked his bones clean had he taid staid much longer but he was saved aved from the consequences of his indiscreet utterances by being ordered to fort riley it is is no doubt true as whit takers statement implies that austers Fu custers activities during the summer and autumn of 1866 seriously impaired the prestige which he had gained as a successful cavalry leader during the civil war this should have warned him to keep away from civilian politics but unfortunately for him he failed to heed that warning during the next 10 years the american public which had once hailed george armstrong custer as the beau of the union army had good reason to applaud him in a new role that of the foremost indian fighter of his day why he having added to his fame as a soldier should have ventured again into the field of politics which had once proved so sterile for him is one of the paradoxes of a career that is filled with inconsistencies for that is what he did when he became embroiled in the famous belknap affair in the winter of 1875 he volunteered to testify before the congressional committee which was investigating charges of graft against gen W W belknap I 1 president grants secretary of war thereby incurring the dimple displeasure asure of grant As the result of these latest indiscreet utterances custer was deprived of command of the expedition p e ait tion on w which h ic h he was to have led age against t the h hostile F tile sioux and C he in t the he spring of 1876 a although it h dug h h he e W was as eventually permitted to accompany its commander gen A H terry at the head of his regiment the seventh cavalry disaster overtook him when his regiment was vas detached from the main column to locate the hostiles ho stiles for at the battle of the little big horn hom on june 25 1876 the indians annihilated the five troops of the seventh which custer led into battle and inflicted heavy casualties upon the other six troops before they were rescued by terry the next day controversy over custer for more mor ethan than 60 years a con troverse tro versy has raged over this battle battie critics of custer assert that he alone was responsible for the tragedy they say that he was hungry for a victory which would regain for him some of the prestige he had lost in the belknap affair and that he was determined to grab all the glory of such a victory for himself so they assert he deliberate deliberately y destroyed both the letter and ad the spirit of terrys explicit t or orders d ers and by bringing on a battle 24 hours too soon he not only brought disaster upon himself but he broke up a plan which would have insured defeat of the indians deans custer defenders tell another story they admit his desire for a 8 victory but they deny that he disobeyed terrys instructions for they read in them an interpretation which gave him considerable latitude of action and fully justify his departure from the letter of those much debated orders in the heat of their dispute they overlook an incident which may furnish a clue to one of the forces that motivated him this incident suggests that despite the unhappy results of his previous ventures into politics lie he was contemplating still another and that his ultimate goal was washington D C and the white housel house accompanying custer on this expedition was a party of or ree indian scouts many of whom including a fierce warrior named bloody knife had taken par part t in custers Ou exploration of th the e black hills two years earlier before terrys army left fort abraham lincoln dakota territory custer held a council with the scouts years later red star one of the scouts during an interview with 0 G libby of the north dakota historical society recalling the council disclosed that custer told the Ari karas he had been to washington and he had been informed that this would be his last campaign in the west among the indians he said that no matter how small a victory he could win even though it was against only five tents of the dakotas sioux it would make him president great father and he must turn back as soon as he was victorious in case of victory he would take bloody knife back with him to washington later during the march into the indian country custer aga again in talked with his indian scouts at that time according to red star he said he had made up his mind to go on this expedition to light eight he said he had been to washington and had bad bee been sl given instructions to follow the dakotas Dakota now that he was on the war path it if he had a victory he be said when we return I 1 will go back to washington and on my trip to washington I 1 shall take my brother here bloody knife with me I 1 shall remain at washington and be the gres great t father but my brother bloody knife will return and when he arrives home he shall have a fine house built for him and those of 0 you present will be the ones a appointed p P 0 anted to look alter after the work that w will il I 1 b be ep placed I 1 d in charge ot of bloody knife you ou w will have positions under him to help in what he Is to do and you can when you wish to speak with me or send me word gather aher at bloody knifes house and decide what the message will be then he win will send it to me he will be given gi en the whole tribe of Ari karas to be head 0 ot I 1 I 1 will have papers made out for or each of 0 you here ancl and you will have plenty to eat tor for all time to come and you and your children in saying such things was custer merely talking big army officers who knew him well say that he was given to doing that in order to impress his indian scouts and by malting making such promises did he hope to hold them steadfast it if they should show an inclination cli to desert him at a critical time in the coming campaign or was he truly showing his heart to trusted indian f friends rien ds who would not likely betray his confidence there is of course no way of knowing which of these two possibilities ties is the more believable but they suggest other interesting te speculations more than once the american people had elected a military hero president they had sent old hickory jackson old tippecanoe harrison and old rough and ready taylor to the white house why my t they send old curley custer the conqueror of the sioux there it if he should sh auld win a great victory over the indians were such thoughts as these in the mind of george armstrong custer when he told his scouts that he was going to b be e their great father was he planning in the event of victory to enter the political arena once more and prove that lie he could win there as well as on the field of battle those questions must forever unanswered the lips ol of the only man who could haye have answered them were sealed by death on a barren hillside in montana one hot sunday in june is the year 1876 |